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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: march · bound · mine · chair · season · pitcher · bark · tear

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. tear — to rip
  3. tear — from crying
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. bound — certain
  6. tear — from crying
  7. bark — to shout
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. march — the month
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. mine — for digging
  15. season — of the year
  16. bound — obliged
  17. bound — tied together
  18. march — music
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. chair — a leader
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. march — the month
  23. season — in sport
  24. mine — an explosive

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com